In 2020, a total of 22,685 people moved into Cornwall. This ongoing influx of new residents descending into the county has caused many local areas to lose their sense of community. Porthtowan is one of the last few coastal villages that still retains a sense of its local character.
Once a thriving mining town, the area now relies on the tourism industry throughout summer, falling quiet in the winter. Unlike other, more scenic, Cornish beach towns, Porthtowan has a different feel. The village has previously struggled with high crime rates and low income levels. While a small number of families have lived in the village for generations, many have moved here from elsewhere. On every return visit I made with my camera, I witnessed change. I would see new faces, new businesses and bear witness to the incongruous glass and steel infrastructure of the huge, modern new-builds that now populate the cliffs where small cottages once stood. With the housing crisis in Cornwall worsening year on year, the community is at risk of being pushed out by the ever increasing house prices. Most who grow up here will be forced to move away in search of more affordable housing in the beleaguered inner county towns.
My photo series explores the political and social challenges which face this rural coastal community.
